Run For Your Life
by LoveWriteHere
Summary: What started off as a simple camping trip for school soon turns into a matter of life or death when Tori, Beck, Jade, and Andre are kidnapped. Trapped and confused, the group is left wondering; what do these people really want? why them? and most importantly, how do they escape? Love and friendship is put to the test as they fight for freedom, life, and eachother Bade/Cabbie/Tandre
1. Camping Trip

**So this is my new story! I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you guys think so far! I promise it will start getting exciting fast after this chapter but I had to have some sort of introduction. I don't own Victorious, obviously. BTW this is post TWC so bade is broken up. Cabbie and Tandre are not together either. **

"Absolutely not." Jade was the first of the group to speak up, and whether the others were brave enough to admit it or not, she knew she had spoken for all of them. No one really wanted to go on a camping trip over their semester break, especially not with their crazy acting teacher. As much as they all loved Sikowitz, they knew that a camping trip with him would consist of nothing but drive-by acting challenges, method acting, and other work they were supposed to be escaping during break. Plus, it was camping, and they weren't exactly the primitive type.

"Why not?" Their teacher pleaded with big eyes. "It'd be fun!"

"We're not really into camping." Tori explained as nicely as she could.

"It's disgusting." Jade added. "Who would want to spend a week being eaten alive by bugs with no air conditioning, no bathroom, and no beds? You'd have to be out of you mind." The others nodded tentatively in agreement, besides Cat who was staring off into space and didn't seem to have a clue what was going on.

"It'll be extra credit." Sikowitz offered.

"No." Jade declared and turned to leave the room, the others following her lead.

"Okay, fine, it's mandatory if you want to pass my class." The group stopped in their tracks, turning to face their acting teacher.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked tentatively, "That we'll fail if we don't go?" Sikowitz nodded and everyone stared at him, incredulous.

"Come on, man!" Rex shouted indignantly from his seemingly permanent place on Robbie's hand. "That's jank!"

"You don't have to go, Rex." Sikowitz sighed. "Just Robbie, Cat, Beck, Jade, Tori, and Andre."

"Why us?" Beck asked with a frown.

"It's always us!" Jade cried. "Can't you choose some other students lives to ruin once in a while?" Sikowitz shook his head.

"You guys are my best students and I want you to be successful actors. And if that means cutting into your leisure time once in a while, so be it." The group groaned, except for Cat who was clapping excidedly.

"Yay! I love camping!" She giggled. "One time when I went camping with my brother he-"

"NO!" Jade barked, cutting her off. She happily clamped up, twirling a strand of her red velvet hair and continuing to bounce slightly.

"So are you in?" Sikowitz asked, eyeing his students. They nodded reluctantly, not wanting to fail his class.

"Good!" He grinned. "I'll text you the details."

….

Sikowitz gave the group directions to the place they would be camping in and provided them with tents and food. Everything else, he told them, was their responsibility. They prepared to leave directly from school on the last day before semester break, packing their stuff in their cars before the morning of. They assumed Sikowitz would be driving up with them, considering he had a semi-suspended driver's license, but he adamantly refused a ride.

"I'll meet you children there." He said, handing Beck the tents and food to carry up in his uncle's truck. "Don't wait for me to set up." They all shrugged and headed for their cars except Jade, who regarded him suspiciously.

"When are you coming up?" She asked with a frown.

"Don't you worry about that." Sikowitz replied, avoiding the question. "That reminds me, do you kids all have your cell phones?" They nodded and he smiled. "Okay great. See you guys later!" And with that, he disappeared into the school. Jade frowned after him and headed for her car, Cat bouncing along behind her.

"What's wrong Jadey?" She asked, sliding into the passenger seat of Jade's car. Jade just shook her head.

"I have a weird feeling about this."

….

They arrived at the camp site around six, after over 2 hours of driving. Jade was about to tear her hair out after listening to Cat's stories about her brother the whole time. She turned to Beck as soon as she got out of her car.

"You're driving her back." She ordered him.

"Not unless you want Robbie, I only have two seats." Beck laughed. Jade growled and turned to Andre, passing on the task to him. Andre accepted it without a fight, knowing he didn't really have a reason that he couldn't drive her. He had enjoyed the time on the way up with just him and Tori, but having Jade on his bad side wasn't something he liked to make a habit of.

The gang unpacked their stuff and Andre and Tori set to work pitching the tents, leaving Jade, Beck, Cat, and Robbie to handle dinner. Beck sent Cat and Robbie to gather firewood, while he and Jade sorted through the food Sikowitz gave them, trying to ration it.

"I can't believe this is all the hippie gave us." Jade mumbled. "There's barely one thing per meal. Did he forget that there are six of us?" Beck rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on. We can split them."

"They're meant to serve one person each, Beck! We are going to starve!"

"Quit being so dramatic." Jade scowled at him, tossing her cans into his pile, messing up his count.

"Do it yourself." She mumbled, leaving him alone. He sighed, separated the cans, and restarted his count, not bothering to see where she went. Robbie and Cat returned with the firewood shortly after he was done and, being the only of the three not afraid of fire or at risk of causing a forest fire, he was left to start the fire on his own. It was a much harder task than he'd expected, and he was soon left wishing he had Jade's help. Eventually, Andre and Tori finished with the tents and came over to help him with the fire and between the three of them they somehow managed to get it started. It wasn't until the food was almost done cooking that anyone even noticed that Jade was gone, being so absorbed in their own tasks.

"Hey, where's Jade?" Tori asked suddenly. Beck and Andre, who were carefully trying to heat the canned food that their teacher had neglected to pack any sort of cooking device for, looked up slowly, glancing around for the dark girl.

"I haven't seen her for a while." Andre replied. Tori turned to Beck.

"Wasn't she supposed to help you with dinner?"

"She got mad when we were sorting food and stormed off. Haven't seen her since." Beck shrugged. Tori stared at him.

"And you just let her go?"

"So?"

"We don't know what's out here Beck! She could be in trouble!" Beck felt his stomach tighten at the thought. He could never live with himself if something happened to Jade.

"I'm sure she'd fine." He assured her, as well as himself, but inside he began to worry. What if Tori was right? What if…? Dinner came and went with no sign of Jade and the sun began to set. Beck was really worried now, but he wouldn't let it show. Tori and Cat on the other hand, were wrecks. Tori was beyond nervous, she kept glancing over her shoulder at every noise, praying that Jade would come walking back into the campsite soon. Cat was whimpering softly, rocking herself as Robbie held her in his arms, assuring her that Jade would be back soon. After what felt like an eternity, they heard footsteps nearby. They all tensed, even Beck and Andre, and stared in the direction of the noise. A proud Jade emerged from the trees, carrying with her what appeared to be a whole fried chicken.

"You can thank me later."

She smiled proudly, setting the food down on a tree stump near the group. They all swarmed it immediately, having been far from satisfied with the tiny portion of canned food they had received for dinner.

"Where did you get this?" Tori asked, heaping her plate with the roasted chicken. Jade shrugged evasively.

"Where did you steal it from is a better question." Beck frowned disapprovingly. Jade rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a sissy, Beck. Its food, isn't it? And I was obviously right about the canned crap not being enough." She motioned to their friends who had piled their plates high and were hungrily chowing down on the chicken. Beck just shook his head.

**Author's Note: PLEASE REVIEW :D I reply to every review unless you don't have an account and if you don't have an account and want a reply just mention it in the review and I will reply on the story. I will also reply on the story automatically for non-acconts that leave me really nice comments and will mention my favorite reviews whenever I receive them. So please review! Haha what a mouthful. And make sure to check out my other stories. Love you guys!**


	2. Footsteps

It wasn't until everyone had eaten their fill, even Beck gave in and ate some, and the chicken was down to the bones that they noticed that their acting teacher hadn't shown up.

"I told you something was off." Jade reminded them. "He's not coming. This was his plan all along."

"I thought his plan was to get us out here to teach us to be better actors." Tori frowned. "Maybe he got delayed at the school or something."

"That would be an awfully long delay." Beck pointed out.

"Maybe his car broke down on the way up." Robbie offered. "That used to happen to me all the time, but my new car never breaks down."

"You don't have a car." Jade rolled her eyes. "It's a freaking bicycle."

"Is not! It's a car of the future!" Robbie protested.

"Let's just call Sikowitz and ask him." Andre suggested.

"About my car?" Robbie asked, confused.

"About where he is, diphthong." Jade barked. Tori pulled out her phone and dialed Sikowitz's number, putting it on speaker phone.

"Hello?" Came the familiar voice of their crazy teacher.

"Sikowitz! It's Tori, Beck, Andre, Cat, Jade, and Robbie." Tori explained. Jade rolled her eyes.

"Just get on with it!" She growled. Tori gave her a look.

"Um, Sikowitz?" She began, politely.

"Yes?"

"Where are you?" There was a long pause and then Sikowitz replied confidently.

"Ah, well you see. My car has seemed to have broken down, and well; I can't get up there until it is fixed."

"I told you!" Robbie grinned triumphantly. Jade frowned suspiciously.

"You don't have a car." She accused. There was another long pause.

"So I will see you children probably some time tomorrow." Sikowitz replied, evasively. "Have a good first night." The phone went dead and Tori shrugged, pushing it back into her pocket. The group scattered, heading for their tents, except for Jade who remained where she was.

"Oh come on!" She cried, causing the others to stop in their tracks. "You don't actually believe his car broke down do you?"

"Why would he lie?" Andre frowned.

"Because he's not coming! I told you! That was his plan all along!" The group rolled their eyes at her paranoia.

"I'm sure he'll come." Tori declared, earning herself a death glare from Jade. Andre, Beck, and Robbie nodded in agreement. Cat stood quietly, twirling her hair.

"One time, my brother said he was coming but-"

"NO!" Jade cut her off. Feeling the futility of her argument, Jade let it drop and began to herd Cat toward their tent. The fact that she had to share a tent with Tori and Cat did nothing to improve her mood. Tori waved good night to the guys, and followed Jade and Cat into their tent. Jade was already plotting her space, giving herself half the tent so that Tori and Cat had only a quarter each. Tori sighed, grabbing her sleeping bag and luggage and dragging them to her corner of the tent, she began to mentally prepare herself. She'd have to take up meditation, she thought grimly, if she had any prayer of surviving the week.

…

"Beck." It was just a whisper at first, and Beck had to question himself that he'd even heard it. He sat up in his sleeping bag, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Beck!" The whisper came again, harsher this time. Beck frowned and moved toward the entrance of the tent as quietly as he could to avoid waking the others. He pulled the tent door open to reveal an impatient looking Tori, motioning him outside. Careful not to step on the others, Beck made his way out, zipping the tent behind him.

"What is it?" He whispered, and Tori motioned him away from the tents. He followed her and she stopped when she felt that they could talk freely, without risk of waking the others.

"What is it?" Beck asked again.

"I got up because I had to go to the bathroom and when I was on my way back I kept hearing these weird noises." She explained.

"What kind of noises?"

"Rustling. Like foot steps." She replied, her voice beginning to shake. "I tried to shake them off but I couldn't. I just didn't feel safe going back to my tent." Beck frowned.

"And how exactly did you think I was going to help with that?" Tori shrugged.

"Well you're a guy. Aren't guys supposed to be like, protectors or something?"

"If you haven't noticed I'm not the only guy in this camp. And I'm pretty sure Jade would be just as good at fending off…whatever it is." Tori laughed.

"Yeah but Jade would probably kill me for waking her up, Robbie is Robbie, and Andre, well, he's not really that scary." Beck laughed.

"And I am?" Tori shrugged.

"Maybe in the dark." Beck rolled his eyes. "Just keep watch with me for a few minutes." Tori begged. "Please? It'd make me feel better." Beck nodded reluctantly and they found a place to sit near the campsite. They sat in silence for several minutes, just listening and looking around. Just when they were about to give up and go back inside, Tori grabbed Beck's arm.

"There!" She whispered. "Did you hear that?" Beck listened closely and she was right, the rustling sounded eerily similar to footsteps. He grabbed is flashlight and began to shine it around the campsite.

"It's probably just an animal." He said with as much confidence as he could muster. Tori gripped his arm tightly as the noise began to get louder.

"Beck." She whispered hoarsely. "What are we going to do?" Beck stood up and headed in the direction of the sound.

"I'll go check it out." He told her. "You stay here."

"But-"

"I'll be right back." He added, and without giving her a chance to argue, he set off into the woods.

…..

The woods were dark. The trees blocked the light from the moon and stars, creating an almost suffocating darkness and had it not been for the flashlight, Beck didn't think he would've been able to keep going. He could still hear the rustling and it seemed to be getting closer; his sweaty palms gripped the flashlight like it was his life-line.

"Hello?" He called uselessly into the darkness as if whatever it was may answer. The sound was getting closer and closer, and he was beginning to panic. He glanced around wildly, shinning his flashlight in all directions, trying to locate the source of the noise. His heart was racing a mile a minute and he made a sudden decision to turn back, desperate for the small comfort the campsite could bring. He spun on his heel, intending to sprint back to the site, but instead collided head first with a figure. He yelled and fell backwards, evoking a shriek from the person.

"Tori!?"

"Beck!?"

"I told you to stay at the campsite!"

"You're not the boss of me." Tori replied immaturely. She had also been knocked down from the impact for the collision. Beck stood and offered her his hand, which she refused, spitting hair from her face as she clambered to her feet.

"Why did you follow me?" Beck demanded.

"I couldn't let you go out here alone!"

"Yes, you could have!" He cried exasperatedly. "Just...come on; let's go back to the campsite." He sighed, grabbing the flashlight from where he had dropped it. They began to make their way to the site when a gravelly voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

**Author's Note: So? What do you guys think? Review, review, REVIEW! :D**


	3. Guns

Tori and Beck turned slowly and found themselves looking up into the eyes of two very muscular guys, a blonde and brunette, with evil smirks on their faces. Beside him, Beck felt Tori freeze.

"Beck, they've got guns." She whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible. Beck followed her gaze and even in the dark he immediately could tell she was right. The unmistakable metal handle of a handgun protruded from both of their jean pockets. Beck swallowed, stepping forward to place himself between Tori and the gunmen.

"What do you want?" He asked as strongly as he could manage. Without a word, the blonde man motioned to his partner, who pulled his gun and cocked it.

"Come with us." The brunette ordered calmly, grabbing Tori's arm. Tori whined but didn't fight him, knowing she had no prayer against a loaded gun. The other man pulled his gun and pointed it at Beck.

"Follow me, pretty boy."

….

Jade had never been able to sleep through the night. Not as a baby, not as a child, and certainly not as a teenager. Even the smallest sound had always been able to wake her, and it was the far away screams of Tori and Beck that woke her that night. She didn't realize what had woken her at the time, just figured it had been a nearby bird or something, but she immediately knew something wasn't right. Some people wrote her off as paranoid, but Jade swore she had a sixth sense about these things. She always knew when something was off; when someone was lying, in danger or mad. It was a sense that had proved to be a necessity in her house so she was quite trained in listening to her instincts. She felt it strongly that night when she woke up, and immediately scanned the tent for any signs of trouble. That's when it hit her; Tori was gone.

Normally this wouldn't have bothered her too much; less Tori was usually a good thing in her books, but not this time. She could feel that something wasn't right. She silently climbed from her tent and went to the guys' tent, intending to tell them about Tori. She unzipped the tent and looked inside, her eyes immediately resting on the empty sleeping bag. Beck was gone.

"Get up!" She screamed at Andre and Robbie, her voice waking Cat in the tent nearby. "Get up now!" Robbie's eyes bolted open, and he scrambled away from her, clutching his blanket to him. Andre blinked sleepily, frowning at her.

"What?" He asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Get out here. Now!" She ordered. Robbie scampered out of the tent obediently, Andre following slowly behind him. Cat joined the group, perky as always, a huge smile on her face despite the nature of the hour.

"Tori and Beck are gone." Jade informed them. Cat stared at her wide-eyed, holding onto Robbie's arm.

"Where?" She asked, innocently.

"I don't know!" Jade snapped, turning to Andre. "We have to go look for them!" Andre frowned, still trying to shake his sleepiness.

"Let's just think for a minute." He reasoned, earning a scowl from Jade. "What logical reasons could they be gone?" Jade rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to look for them." She declared, turning toward the woods. "Come if you want. Or don't. Whatever." She set off towards the trees, Cat racing to catch up. Robbie followed after Cat and Andre sighed. He grabbed a flashlight and followed suit, not letting himself believe that his friends could be in trouble. There had to be an explanation, right?

…

The blonde man lifted a struggling Tori over the edge of the truck, tossing her in beside Beck. She collapsed beside him in the truck bed, fighting violently against the rope binds on her hands and legs.

"It's not possible." Beck informed her grimly, having nearly rubbed his wrists and ankles raw with his escape attempts. "They're really strong." Tori sighed and stopped fighting, silent tears streaming down her face.

"What are we going to do, Beck?" She whispered, as if expecting him to have the answers. "How are we going to get out?" Beck just shook his head, wishing he could tell her that everything would be fine, but at the moment, he just didn't know.

…

Jade was getting more and more desperate with every step she took, her sixth sense overwhelming her with bad vibes. Seeing her so out of sorts was unnerving for the others, and her panic was quickly rubbing off on them. Even Andre could no longer deny that things didn't look good. They had been walking for nearly a half an hour with not even a sign of human life. He was just about to suggest that they check back at the campsite when Jade stopped in her tracks, glancing around suspiciously.

"Did you hear that?" She asked the others. They shook their heads, straining to listen. Andre heard a rustling much like footsteps from somewhere in the distance, probably what Jade was hearing as well.

"Beck?" Jade called as loud as she could. "Tori?" They stood in silence a moment, listening for any kind of response. There was a pause and then, far in the distance, came what sounded a lot like human voices.

…..

Beck and Tori froze. They had heard Jade yell their names across the woods and were silently praying that they were the only ones. They didn't want the men to capture her too, or any of their friends for that matter.

"Well, well. Who would that be?" The blonde man asked, eyeing Beck and Tori. "Am I to understand that you lied about being camping alone?" Beck and Tori glanced at each other nervously, not sure what to say.

"Why don't you just take us? Before one of them sees us and calls the police?"

"No reception up here." The blonde man smirked. "But nice try. Go ahead and yell to her, pretty boy. Get her up here to join the party." Beck didn't move; he just kept his mouth clamped shut, staring straight ahead.

"Maybe you didn't hear me." The blonde man frowned, pulling his gun and leaning over the edge of the truck so that it was right next to Beck's head. Beck gulped, but didn't back down. Nothing would make him put his friends in danger as well.

"Alright. If that's how you want to play it." The blonde man motioned to his partner, who reached in and grabbed Tori from the truck. Tori screamed and attempted to pull away, but she was powerless with her hands and feet bound as they were. Beck fought against his binds, wanting nothing more than to stop the man from taking her. The blonde man smacked him across the face with the gun.

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." The brunette man took Tori around to the side of the car, and set her down, ordering her to stay still. Tori whimpered as he placed tape over her mouth and moved to the edge of the truck, drawing his own gun. He pointed the gun at her menacingly, cocking it. She began to bawl, looking away from him. Beck could no longer see Tori, and with the blonde man's gun pointed directly at him, he didn't dare to try. He heard a gun shot and felt his heart break, praying that none of his friends were on the end of the shot. He pushed away from the blonde man, struggling to see what happened, but was immediately forced back down.

"Don't worry about your precious girlfriend." The blonde man hissed. "She'll be fine as long as she cooperates. It's you, you should be worried about." Beck stared at him but didn't push his luck; something told him that this man would have no problem with shooting him. From somewhere below him, he heard Tori pleading.

"They didn't do anything. Just take us, please." He relaxed a little, knowing that she was alive. But that's when he heard Jade's voice again, and felt his world come crashing down around him.

….

A gunshot. She knew immediately that's what it was, and stupidly began to sprint toward the noise.

"Jade!" Andre called after her. "What do you think you're doing?" But Jade ignored him and continued to run.

"Stay here!" Andre ordered Cat and Robbie. "And if we aren't back in 5 minutes, go back to the campsite and call the police!" He turned and ran after Jade, not willing to let her face whatever it was alone. Cat and Robbie stood where they were, too stunned to do anything.

"Beck!" Jade called as she ran, not concerned about anything at the moment but his safety. And slightly Tori's. She quickly came upon a clearing with a large black truck parked in the middle. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Tori, bound and gagged at the edge of the truck. Andre was suddenly at her side, and together they ran to Tori, dropping to their knees as soon as they got to her to free her from her binds. Andre pulled the tape from her mouth while Jade went to work on the ropes on her legs.

"You shouldn't have come." Tori moaned miserably. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the brunette man rise from his hiding spot and point his gun at Jade and Andre.

"Hands up." He ordered, making them jump. They spun to face him, cringing at the site of his gun. "Did I stutter? Hands up!" Andre's hands immediately shot into the air and Jade raised hers as well, though much more reluctantly. The blonde man jumped from the truck bed, pulling their hands behind their backs and binding them with rope. He ordered them to sit, and tied their feet as well, tossing them into the truck bed as he finished with them. He tossed Andre in first, who landed heavily beside Beck, looking shaken. Beck looked at his friend miserably, unbelieving that his situation had suddenly gotten a thousand times worse. It was bad enough that the men had captured him and Tori, but Andre and Jade as well?

The blonde man tossed Jade into the truck and she collided with Beck from the impact of the throw. She sat up quickly, moving away from him slightly as she fought violently against her binds. Beck didn't have the heart to tell her she'd never get them off and knew she wouldn't take his word for it anyways. So he watched miserably as she struggled uselessly against the ties, fighting with all her might. The men tossed Tori in the truck last, locking the back once she was in.

"You think that's the last of em?" The brunette asked his partner who rolled his eyes.

"I doubt it, but it'll do." The men made their way to the front of the truck but not before pausing to give the group a final warning.

"If any of you try to jump out, we'll shoot you. That is, if the fall doesn't kill you first."

**Auhthor's note: What do you guys think? Ideas, suggestions, critiques, compliments? Please review! More reviews = quicker updates :D**


	4. Defeated

Beck, Tori, and Andre sat in a stunned silence, still unbelieving that the night's events had actually occurred. Jade on the other hand, much more familiar with times of crisis, was working tirelessly to free herself from the ropes.

"It's no use." Tori informed her. "Even if you managed to get them off, what then? You heard them; even if we were to get off the truck they'd just shoot us." Jade ignored Tori, continuing to struggle against the binds. Suddenly she froze, her eyes lighting up.

"Beck." She said, turning to her ex-boyfriend. "See if you can reach the scissors in my boot." Beck frowned, doubtful of her plan, but complied anyways, positioning himself so that his bound hands were above her foot. He gently lowered himself so his fingers could just barely graze the side of her boot. She pushed her leg as close to him as she could get it, being bound as it was and Beck stretched as far as he could reach.

"It's no use." He sighed after a few minutes. "They're too far down. Besides, Tori's right, even if we got the binds off, we couldn't escape. We should save our energy until we have a better chance at escape." Jade scowled but didn't protest; her wrists and ankles were bleeding from the useless escape attempts and she didn't think she could handle any more fighting at the moment anyway. She scooted herself so that she could lean against the side of the truck, inadvertently placing herself much closer to Beck than she had intended. Their bodies touched he looked at her. Their eyes met for a moment before Tori's voice broke their gaze.

"Where are Cat and Robbie?" Tori whispered. She was leaning against Andre's shoulder, tear stains all down her cheeks. Even her voice portrayed how shaken she was; it shook almost as much as her body did and Andre longed to put his arm around her.

"I told them to go back to camp and call for help if we weren't back in five minutes. We can only hope they listened."

…

"We should go back to camp now." Robbie frowned, staring at the empty space ahead of them.

"No!" Cat cried. "It hasn't been five minutes yet!"

"Actually, it's been fifteen." Robbie informed her, being as sensitive as he could. "Andre would want us to go back to the camp now." Cat shook her head defiantly, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"They're coming back. I know they are."

"Let's go wait for them back at camp." Robbie tried again. "Maybe they're already back there." Cat shook her head again, planting her feet.

"They are coming back." She insisted. "They have to." Robbie sighed, wishing he had the strength of Andre or Beck so he could just pick her up and carry her with him. Instead he settled for taking her hand, praying that she wouldn't make it difficult.

"Come on, baby, please? For me?" He begged, tugging her gently back toward the campsite. Cat's tears began to really flow but she followed him reluctantly, gripping his hand tightly.

…..

The truck stopped at what appeared to be a large log cabin. The men stopped the truck and moved to its bed, guns drawn.

"I'll show them to their quarters." The blonde man smirked. The brunette nodded, pointing his gun at the group as he lowered the tailgate. Jade glared him down, refusing to show any sign of fear. Tori on the other hand, was bawling like a baby.

"Better take the dark girl first." The brunette laughed, motioning to his partner. "Don't know if we can trust her." Jade tensed, less than thrilled about the idea of being alone with the creepy guy, but continued to glare as if this didn't affect her.

"No!" Beck cried, as the blonde began to move toward Jade. "Take me." The blonde and brunette exchanged a look, smirking at each other.

"Looks like we had it wrong, James." The blonde man laughed. "The dark girl's his girlfriend, not her." He motioned to Tori, who cringed like he had shocked her. The brunette, James, laughed as well.

"Don't worry, pretty boy." He said, eyeing Beck. "Your little girlfriend will be just fine as long as she cooperates."

"I'm not his girlfriend." Jade growled, glaring him right in the eye. The blonde guy rolled his eyes, dismissing her.

"Whatever, sweetie. Come with me now."

"Don't call me sweetie." Jade barked.

"Don't make this difficult. I don't want to have to hurt you." Jade continued to glare, but did as he said and slid out of the truck. He moved behind her, prodding her back with his gun. "Walk." He ordered. She did as he said. He directed her into the cabin and to the very back room. He opened the door and shoved her inside, turning on the lights. It was a boring room. No couches, chairs, anything really. All it had was peeling white paint on the walls and a stained, not white anymore carpet. The blonde man indicated for her to sit and shoved her down when she refused, turning her so her back was to him.

"Just relax sweetie." He sighed, pulling a knife from his pocket and starting to cut through the ropes on her arms. "Your precious friends will be joining you soon."

"Don't call me sweetie." Jade repeated icily.

"Okay," The man sighed. "What do you want to be called, then?"

"Nothing by you."

"What's your name?"

"Like hell I'm going to tell you."

"My name's Eric."

"That's a stupid name." Eric finished cutting through the ropes on her hands and stepped away, leaving her feet bound. He pointed his gun at her again. She turned to face him, glaring right at him to let him know that she wasn't afraid.

"Look, little girl." He growled, his tone completely transformed from the moment before. "You may think that you can beat me, but you can't. Don't make the mistake of trying to escape." Jade continued to glare, ignoring the meaning of his words. "You know that even if you manage to escape chances are we'll catch one of you right? Or else we'll find you later. Even if you somehow got us arrested, I promise you there are more of us. And we'll find you, your friends, and your little boyfriend, Beck." Jade swallowed, slightly thrown by his use of Beck's name. And with that, he stood and walked out, locking the door behind him. Jade felt his words begin to sink in, and a hopeless feeling began to creep up on her. Even if she escaped he would find a way to hurt her. He was right after all. It was unlikely that a group of unarmed teenagers could manage to all escape two men with guns. Someone would get left behind. Someone would end up paying the price for all of them.

Jade focused on her breathing, forcing herself not to panic. She crossed her arms in front of her, forcing herself to stay strong as she waited for Eric to bring the others.

…..

"Camp's this way." Cat insisted, pointing to her left. "We came from over there." She had seemed to have completely forgotten her worries from before and was no chipper as ever, optimistic that they'd find the others waiting for them at camp. Robbie shook his head.

"No, I'm sure it's over there."

"No, I'm sure I remember seeing that tree before."

"All the trees look the same, Cat!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"That you couldn't…ah forget it. We'll try your way first but if we don't find the campsite in ten minutes, we're coming back here and going my way." Cat shrugged.

"Okay." She smiled, leading the way.

….

James and Eric paraded the others into the room together and ordered them to sit with their backs facing them. They nervously did as they were told, Jade watching from the other side of the room. Eric went around and cut the ropes from the teenagers' hands as James pointed his gun at them to assure that they stay put. When Eric had finished, the two of them left the room, locking the door behind them. Jade crawled over to where they were, her bound feet preventing her from any other type of movement.

"Jade!" Beck cried, seeing her for the first time. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you did he?" Jade shrugged.

"No more than the rest of you." She sighed, her voice unusually defeated. Beck relaxed slightly. Ignoring the fact that they were no longer dating, he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her to him.

"We'll get out of here." He whispered. Jade didn't answer, just stared straight ahead, feeling defeated at last.

**Author's Note: Thank you so much to all of my reviewers. You guys are amazing. Please continue to be :) I promise I read every one and respond to as many as I can. What do you guys think so far? Love you guys!**


	5. Screams

Cat and Robbie had been wandering the woods for hours, searching for the campsite. It wasn't until they had tried every direction known to man, and a couple that weren't, that Robbie finally had to admit that they were lost. He tried to tell Cat this, but she shook her head confidently, giggling.

"We're not lost, silly. We're right here!" Robbie sighed, sitting down on a log near her.

"It's getting dark." He noted. "If we don't find the campsite soon, we'll have to at least try to find a safe place to spend the night." Cat grinned.

"Ohhh! It'll be just like camping." In spite of the situation, Robbie laughed.

"Yes, cutie." He smiled at her. "It'll be just like that." Cat giggled.

….

Beck yawned. Despite how uncomfortable he felt in the cabin's grubby back room, he longed more than anything for sleep. He hadn't slept well since his break-up with Jade over 2 months before and that, in addition to the day's tiresome events and being woken up at 2 in the morning, left him practically sleeping with his eyes open. He struggled internally, his need for sleep conflicting his need to protect his friends, especially Jade.

Tori had fallen asleep in Andre's arms and he was holding her against him tightly as he dozed sporadically, waking every few minutes to make sure she was still there. Jade was slightly removed from the group, sitting against the wall with her arms crossed as she glared at the door, refusing to sleep. Beck crawled over to where she was and sat beside her. Her eyes didn't leave the locked door.

"We should get some sleep." Beck whispered, trying not to wake the others. "The guys are probably asleep anyway and we will need our energy if we are going to plan any kind of escape." Jade ignored him continuing to stare straight ahead. Beck sighed, sliding his arm around her shoulders. She pushed him away without a word.

"Jade, please." Beck begged softly. "Don't be like that." Silence. "I know we're not together anymore, but I still care about you." More silence. "Jade?" Slowly, Jade turned to him, her jaw clenched in anger.

"What do you want me to say, Beck?" She snapped. "That I believe you? I don't. If you cared you would've opened the door." Beck sighed.

"You're wrong. I didn't open the door because I couldn't deal with the fighting. Not because I didn't care about you. Of course I care about you, Jade. I love you." Jade turned her head, unable to look at him in the eye. She blinked back the tears and he put his arm around her again. This time she didn't push it away.

"Please." Beck tried again. "Please just get some sleep. I promise I won't let them hurt you." Jade didn't say anything but he felt her relax slightly in his arms.

"I'm holding you to that." She whispered, sliding down to lean on his shoulder. Beck kissed her hair.

"I love you." He whispered. She didn't answer.

…..

After another hour of searching for the campsite, Cat and Robbie gave up and found a small clearing to spend the night in. Car was enthusiastic as ever, until the time came to actually go to sleep.

"Robbie, I'm scared." She whispered as they lay on the grass. "I want my bed. And my stuffed animals. And Tori and Jade and Beck and Andre. They're going to be okay right?" Robbie sighed, pulling the red-head into his arms.

"I wish I knew, baby." He admitted, kissing her forehead gently. "We just have to focus on finding camp tomorrow, okay? So we can call for help for them." Cat sighed, snuggling into Robbie's shirt.

"I wish they were here."

"Me too."

….

The group woke with a start as the door to the back room opened with a bang.

"Good morning, children. I hope you slept well." Beck's arm tightened around Jade and she glared at the blonde man in fury.

"Go the hell away." She snapped. Andre and Tori stared at her, their eyes pleading her not to aggravate the man.

"Sure, sweetie, whatever you want." Eric smirked slyly. "But one of you is coming with me. Why don't you choose who?" Beck felt Jade tense beside him. She just couldn't tell him to take one of her friends, not even Tori.

"If you don't answer me, I'll just take you." Eric informed her. "So you better hurry and make your choice."

"I'll go." Beck volunteered. "Take me."

"I didn't ask you." The blonde man snarled. "Now princess, are you going to tell me who to take or are you coming with me? Last chance." Beck tightened his grip on Jade to the point where it was almost painful.

"Tell him to take me." He whispered. "Please."

"No." Jade replied, her voice dead. "I'll go."

"Jade, please." Beck begged.

"So that's your name. Jade." Eric grinned from his place by the door. "It's a very pretty name. Fitting indeed. Come along now, _Jade._" Jade swallowed hard, pulling away from Beck and standing the best she could with her feet tied. The man pulled his gun, motioning her toward the door. Jade did as she was told, her movement extremely prohibited by the ropes on her feet. She slowly made her way out, Eric's gun on her back, pushing her along.

Beck, who didn't dare do anything with the gun so close to Jade, was near tears on the other side of the room. When the door closed behind them, blocking his view of her, he crawled across the room and pressed his ear to the door, straining to hear what was going on. Tori and Andre didn't say anything, still locked in each other's arms, they were stunned. Jade had volunteered to go herself rather than send one of them even though she had no idea what would happen to her. They couldn't believe it. Tori cried silently in Andre's arms and he held her tightly, rocking her like a child.

"She'll be okay." He whispered. "She has to be."

…

Jade was marched into the kitchen a few rooms away from the others. A woman she had never seen before was sitting at a chair at the table across from the brunette man, James. He was talking to her, his voice excited and she was scribbling furiously in a notebook.

"Here she is." Eric greeted the two, pushing Jade forward slightly. "I think she's just what we're looking for."

"Oh yes, she sounds perfect from what James has been telling me." The lady smiled warmly at Jade, extending her hand. "My name's Clara." She grinned. Jade regarded her hand like it was the foulest thing on the planet. Clara wasn't deterred; she smiled bigger than ever, dropping her hand. "Yes, she'll be just perfect." She said to no one in particular. "Especially if James is right about her relationship with the dark haired boy. Oh this is so exciting!"

"I'm almost positive he's right." Eric informed her. "He had his arm around her when I went to get her and practically begged to be taken instead." Clara nodded happily and turned back to Jade.

"Have you figured out why you're here yet?" She asked her curiously. Jade just glared at her. Clara frowned. "Can she talk?" She asked Eric. Eric nodded.

"She'd just stubborn. Aren't you sweetheart? Now show the nice lady you can talk." He prodded her roughly with the gun.

"Go to hell." Jade spat. Clara raised her eyebrows.

"Well, well." She laughed. "I'll tell you why you're here. I'm doing a study, and you're my subject. You, and your little friends." Jade glared at her, waiting for her to elaborate. Clara however, seemed to be done for the moment. "You'll learn in time." She grinned, motioning to Eric. Eric prodded Jade with the gun again.

"Sit." He ordered her, motioning to the nearest kitchen chair. She did. "Good." Eric smiled. Clara grabbed up her notebook again, quickly flipping to a blank page. "Now scream." Eric ordered. Jade stared at him. "Did I stutter?" Eric growled. "Scream like your being tortured. Now." He cocked his gun threateningly and Jade swallowed. Reluctantly she began to scream.

….

Jade's screams echoed through the back room where the others were being held. They cut through Beck like physical pain as he pressed himself desperately to the door. He called her name uselessly, sobbing as he pounded the door. Tori and Andre cringed and gripped each other tighter with every scream, their tears soaking each other's clothes and hair. Tori pressed her hands to her ears in an attempt to drown out the screams but it was no use. If anything they intensified, shooting through her like electric shocks. Suddenly the screams stopped and the room went silent, making everyone freeze. That's when the sound of a gun echoed through the air.

…..

She screamed over and over again until he finally let her stop. Her voice hurt by the end of it. Eric and Clara smiled at each other as she sat panting.

"That'll do for today." Clara grinned, closing her notebook. Eric nodded and shot his gun away from the group, revealing that it wasn't loaded. Jade took a sharp breath. If his gun wasn't loaded, that meant they had a chance at escape. But her excitement was short lived, as she saw James hand Eric a bullet; it was loaded now.

"Stand." Eric ordered Jade once he had loaded the gun. She did. He forced her to walk and she assumed she'd be taken back to her friends. She began to head that direction but he stopped her and forced her to turn.

"Oh no you don't." He said, directing her toward an empty room on the other side of the cabin. He pushed her inside and she turned to face him.

"Let me go back to my friends." She demanded. Eric shook his head.

"No can do, babe." He grinned. "This is where you'll stay now."

**Author's Note: So. Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? I know it's confusing now but you'll get it soon enough. Please review! :D And thank you to all my guest reviewers! You guys are awesome I wish I could respond to your reviews! I appreciate each and every review. Love you guys.**


	6. Robbed

**Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for the nice reviews on the last chapter. I wish I had time to respond to each and every one! You're so amazing. Thanks for making me smile. Well, here's how I'll say thank you; another chapter! Enjoy! And please review :D**

An hour passed since the gun shot, then two, then three. Each passing minute was torture for the teenagers, as they took with them the hope of their friend returning to them. Beck hadn't left his post at the door, though he was lying at its base now, seemingly out of tears. He felt broken, alone, hopeless. It was pain he had never experienced before. The pain was so intense that it was slowly numbing his entire being. As each minute left him, he could feel his spirit going too. Nearby, Tori was in a similar state. Having completely cried herself out, she laid on the floor limply, her head in Andre's lap. Andre stroked her hair gently, trying in vain to comfort his friends as well as keep himself sane.

"Come on, guys, Jade's strong. They probably just shot the gun to scare her. She's okay, I just know it." He repeated again and again with no response from them, but he continued to say them, trying to believe them himself. It worked for a while, but by the end of the third hour, he had fallen into the same state as his friends; even he couldn't even pretend to believe his own words anymore. No one came to the room the rest of the day which was probably good considering their fragile emotional states. But as night began to fall again, they became, despite everything, increasingly plagued with hunger. Tori winced as her stomach growled yet again. She hated herself for even thinking of food at a time like this, but it was undeniable, they needed food, and soon. They hadn't eaten in nearly forty eight hours. Her hand went to her stomach, trying to silence the constant reminder of her looming hunger. Andre noticed this and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently.

"I'm sure they'll bring us food soon." He whispered reassuringly. Tori shook her head miserably. She wasn't sure whether or not she believed him, or cared if he was right. She knew she should care since her hunger was becoming over powering, but the more she thought about it, she just didn't.

"I just want them to bring Jade back." She whispered.

"Maybe she got away." Andre offered, trying to stay positive, though his voice gave his doubts away. Tori sighed. She wished she could believe him, she truly did, but she couldn't. Even Jade didn't stand a chance against two guys with guns.

…..

"I think I see it!" Cat cried happily, rushing ahead of Robbie as they made yet another lap around the woods.

"You've been saying that for hours."

"No! This time I really see it!" Robbie jogged to catch up with Cat, looking ahead where she was pointing. The campsite came into view and he was immediately flooded with relief. Cat was right; she really had found it this time.

"You're right!" He cried, stopping beside her. "I can't believe it! We're actually back!" Cat turned to face him, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"Yay!" She cried happily. "I knew we weren't lost!" Robbie grinned at her, throwing his arms around her waste and lifting her into a spinning hug. It was beginning to get dark, and the knowledge that they wouldn't have to spend another freezing night on the ground made him want to leap in happiness. She giggled as he spun her around, and after a few moments he grew dizzy and had to stop. He set her down, looking into her eyes lovingly and she returned the stare, her smile still lighting all her features. Robbie was immediately overwhelmed at her beauty, their closeness, his love for her that he had never admitted to anyone. He didn't even realize he was doing it, but he leaned in and kissed her lips gently, his own smile molding to fit hers. When he pulled away, Cat blushed, giggling softly to herself. It suddenly hit him what he had done and he froze, unable to speak.

"Cat…I…uh…I didn't" But he was cut off by Cat standing on her tiptoes, pecking him gently on the lips.

"It's okay." Cat smiled sweetly, twirling a strand of her red-velvet colored hair between her fingers. "I like you too." Now it was Robbie's turn to blush.

"I…really?"

"Yes." She giggled happily. "Now let's go save our friends." Robbie smiled, taking her hand, instantly forgetting everything but the feeling of it in his.

…..

At the end of the forth hour, the door to the back room finally opened. The teenagers jumped, their hearts pounding as they desperately prayed that their friend was about to rejoin them. But when Eric appeared at the door but he didn't have Jade with him, and their hearts instantly sank, their final bits of hope falling away. Beck's stomach clenched at the sight of the evil man, anger overtaking the sadness. It took all he had not to jump up and punch him, but he restrained himself, knowing he'd only make things worse for him and his friends.

"Where's Jade!?" Tori demanded weakly, sitting up to glare at the man. Eric just waved her off.

"Let's just say, she should be an example to all of you, of what a bad mouth can do for a person." Tori's heart increased in speed as she tried to keep her mind from deciphering the meaning of his words. She felt Andre's arms wind around her, gripping her tightly in response to his words. Beck nails dug into his jeans as he held his legs tightly to his chest, forcing himself to stay calm.

"What do you want?" Andre barked as Tori clutched his shirt, new tears falling from her eyes.

"I thought you guys might be hungry." Eric shrugged. He motioned to James outside the door, who entered carrying a try of assorted sandwiches and three water bottles.

"Don't worry." Eric laughed, eyeing their suspicious expressions. "We didn't poison them. Where would be the fun in that?" He smiled slyly and motioned James out the door. James went, and Eric turned to follow, pausing when he reached the door. "I suggest you guys eat up." He said, looking right at Beck. "Unless you want to go the same way as your little friend." Tori sobbed harder against Andre's chest, feeling the awfulness of the situation full blast. Andre swallowed hard eyeing Beck and praying he wouldn't do anything stupid. He needn't have worried; Beck was leaning against the back wall, his legs clutched to his chest in a position he wouldn't be leaving for hours yet. Eric's visit had simply been confirmation of what he'd already known; Jade was gone, and they'd most likely all go the same way. He couldn't breathe, move, or think anymore; he was empty inside. Eric watched at the strong boy crumbled in front of him, his confidence and will diminishing as he stood.

"Happy dining." The blonde man grinned, stepping out and locking the door behind him.

…

"I can't find them!" Cat cried crawling from her tent and rushing over to the other. "I can't find any of them! All the phones are gone, and so are our purses, and the tent's a total mess!" She pouted. Robbie frowned, crawling out of his tent as well.

"So is ours. And our phones and wallets are gone too. I think we've been robbed" Cat's stared at him.

"Someone robbed us? And took our phones? Why would they do that?" She asked sadly. Suddenly her eyes widened. "Robbie, what are we going to do? We can't call for help without phones! We have to get help for Jade and Tori and Andre and Beck! What are we going to do?" She spoke quickly, beginning to freak out.

"We'll just have to find someone and ask them to call for us."

"There's no one here!" Cat cried, her voice rising in panic. "We are out here alone and no one knows what happened but us! Robbie, we have to do something!"

"Okay, okay." Robbie attempted to calm her as he desperately tried to think of solutions. "I know! I'll drive us to that restaurant, the one we passed on the way here, and we can use a pay phone!" Cat immediately relaxed by his words.

"You can drive?" She asked innocently.

"Yes I can drive!"

"Okay. But where do we get a car?" Robbie frowned, he hadn't thought of that.

"Uh…I don't know…I guess…"

"I know! We can take Beck's! Or Andre's. I'm sure they wouldn't mind. But not Jade's. She might hurt you." Robbie laughed. He didn't like the idea of taking one of his friend's cars, but he knew that they didn't have many other options. He crawled back into his tent to search for Beck or Andre's keys, hoping they wouldn't be mad at him when they found out.

…..

"Check this out." Clara called to her colleagues. She had been intently watching her laptop screen all evening, as if it were the finale to her favorite soap opera.

"What is it?" James asked, he and Eric joining her at the screen. Clara pointed to the quadrant of her screen showing the live footage of the back room of the cabin.

"That boy. The handsome one." She explained, indicating his location with her finger. "See what he's doing?" James and Eric exchanged looks, frowning at the screen.

"He's not doing anything." James stated. "Just sitting there."

"Exactly." Clara smiled. "He's been there for hours, and he hasn't touched the food. The others gave in over an hour ago but he hasn't moved. He hasn't said anything either, just sat there. Like he's dead or something." Eric frowned eyeing the statue of a boy, who was holding his legs tightly to his chest, his head in his lap. His eyes then drifted to another part of the screen, showing a different room in the house in which the dark girl was being held. Jade was in a state somewhat similar to that of the boy, though she was staring at the door, her stare intense and frozen.

"What about her?" Eric asked, motioning to the girl. "Has she moved at all?" Clara shook her head.

"But she seems much more responsive than the boy." She pointed out. Eric frowned, glancing between the teenagers on the screen.

"I think we had it wrong." Slowly, he smiled. "They aren't just simple exes, and they-" he indicated Andre and Tori, who were still desperately wrapped in each other's arms. "-are not just friends. This is much bigger than we thought."


	7. The Questions

Jade glared at the closed door, stubbornly refusing to touch her food. She didn't guess that they had poisoned it or anything, but she had decided that she'd rather starve of her own accord than let them decide how she died. It was a morbid thought truly, but she knew she had to start thinking practically. Chances were, they weren't making it out alive. She couldn't fathom why they hadn't hurt her worse yet; all she could guess is that they were trying to psych her out first or something.

She sighed, leaning into her gathered knees, resting her chin on them gently. She refused to let her eyes leave the door, but she was too tired to even hold her head up anymore. She hadn't slept well in months, not since her breakup with Beck. Having practically moved into his RV while they were dating, it killed her to have to suddenly be spending every night in her loud, lonely household.

Her house was always filled with the screaming from her arguing parents until early in the morning and being the light sleeper that she was it was no wonder Jade found it impossible to sleep. Sometimes she would sleep over at Cat's, fabricating some excuse as to why she couldn't sleep at her own house, but most of the time she was too freaked out by being in the same house as Cat's brother to do that anyway. Plus, Cat didn't have a guest room, resulting in an uncomfortable sleep.

So rather than attempt to sleep in one of the crazy households available to her, Jade would sneak out and go driving, making sure to avoid Beck's street at all costs. She would circle her neighborhood, the park, the school; anything to keep her away from her house. Several nights she would just go sit in the twenty four hour coffee shop near her house and work on a play on her laptop, only going back home when it was nearing dawn and her parents would be passed out on the floor. Both being alcoholics, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

And of course, she hadn't slept much at all since they got captured. She had dozed on Beck's shoulder the first night but it was an interrupted and uneasy sleep that didn't exactly leave her feeling refreshed. She felt her eyes flutter as a yawn escaped her. _No. _She scolded herself. _Don't fall asleep. _If she fell asleep she was vulnerable, and that was not about to happen. She would not make it that easy for them. She forced herself to sit up in an attempt to stay awake, wishing profusely for coffee.

She began to go over the events of the prior days in her mind, attempting to make sense of them. Nothing they did made sense; there was no pattern, no obvious reason for their actions. She wasn't sure yet what these people wanted, but she resolved right then not to let them find out anything about her and her friends. The one thing she knew for sure is that they'd use it. They'd use anything the found out against them.

….

"What's taking so long?" Cat pouted, looking into the tent at Robbie who was still on his hands and knees, digging desperately through his friends' bags.

"I can't find them." Robbie replied, feeling himself start to panic. "They're gone." He crawled out of the tent to face Cat, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Someone took them, didn't they?" She asked in a small voice, disappointment evident in her features. "I knew it. Just like our purses and phones." Robbie sighed, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"Don't worry, cutie. We'll think of something."

…

"Hello, sweetheart." Eric grinned at Jade, stepping into the room with her. Jade glared up at him, too tired to even think of a smart reply. Clara followed Eric into the room, smiling happily at their captive.

"Hello." She greeted her. "I just have some simple questions for you." Jade didn't bother to respond, just continued to glare at them. Clara was holding her little notebook and pen, ready to record anything Jade might say. She wanted as much information on the children as she could get; anything that might let them know how to get to them. She wasn't sure what to expect from the snappy girl, but she was sure it'd be interesting.

"Alright." Clara grinned happily. "First question; are you in love." Jade frowned, somewhat thrown by the question. Why did the creepy lady even care? She heard the click of Eric cocking his gun nearby and decided she better answer.

"Yes." She replied. Clara grinned even more brightly.

"And what is the name of this lucky boy?"

"Alex Jansen." Jade answered quickly. "He's my boyfriend." Eric and Clara exchanged confused looks.

"You have a boyfriend?" Clara asked. Jade nodded.

"Tell us the truth." Eric growled from his spot to her right. Jade turned to face him, looking him right in the eye.

"I am." She insisted. "He goes to my school. We've been dating for years." Clara frowned looking thrown. Jade felt a sense of accomplishment, happy to have to upper hand for once.

"Does he know that you're cheating on him?" Clara asked, scribbling furiously in her notebook.

"I'm not cheating on him."

"Tell me about your relationship with that kid in the other room, Beck."

"We're friends."

"Ever dated him?"

"No."

"Ever had a crush on him?"

"No."

"Has he ever had a crush on you?"

"No. We're just friends."

"Good friends?"

"Not really." Clara sighed. She looked up to Eric for support, who nodded slowly.

"Good." Clara said, the smile returning to her face. "That's good I guess. It means it will be much less painful for you than I thought when we get rid of him." Jade clenched her teeth, glaring intensely at the lady.

"You wanna rethink your answers sweetheart?" Eric asked. Jade shook her head slowly.

"I told you the truth." She stated. Again, Clara and Eric exchanged looks.

"Can you tell me about your other little friends, Tori and Andre?" Clara asked.

"I'm not dating them either." Jade replied smartly. Clara ignored her.

"Are they together?"

"No."

"Do they like each other?"

"Just as friends."

"Have they ever been together?"

"No." Clara sighed, closing her notebook.

"That'll be all." She said, turning and heading for the door. Eric followed her, giving Jade a look of distrust as he shut the door behind them. Jade let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She hoped she had done the right thing.

…..

"You think she's lying?" Eric asked as he and Clara made their way back to the kitchen. Clara gave him a look, sitting down at the table to record her notes in her laptop.

"Of course she's lying. She's smart. She's trying to keep us from learning about them." Clara frowned. "What I can't figure out is why. What does she think we are going to do with the information?" Eric shrugged.

"She tried to keep her name from me too, when I first caught her."

"Hmm." Clara acknowledged vaguely. "It's very interesting indeed. You know, I think I could do my entire case study on her alone."

"Then why do you need the others?" Eric asked with a frown.

"Because." Clara smiled. "I think I can use them to crack her."

….

"Okay." Robbie said, trying to reason through their predicament. "Why don't we walk to the restaurant?"

"Walk?" Cat whimpered. "But we've been walking all day! And I'm tired, and hungry!" Robbie nodded.

"Me too, baby. But we have to help our friends."

"We'll get lost in the dark! Robbie, I don't wanna get lost again! Can we just wait til morning?" Robbie nodded, knowing that she was probably right. He wrapped his arm around her, motioning her towards the tent.

"Okay. Let's get some sleep."

….

Jade tossed and turned in her sleep, plagued with dreams filled with the faces of her captors. She woke up in a cold sweat, shaking slightly as she came to. As the dusty room slowly came into view, she was immediately filled with relief that her dreams weren't true. But the relief didn't last long as she angrily scolded herself for falling asleep. She shook the sleep from her body, looking around the room, paranoid thinking getting the best of her. That's when she noticed the tiny open window at the top of the wall. She felt her heart leap as she eyed it. The window was opened in, creating a small platform of glass in front of it. It was a long shot, but if she could get her feet untied, she thought she might just be able to get through it. She looked down at her feet and began to struggle again, praying the ropes had weakened since she'd last tried. It was no use; they were as tight as ever.

Suddenly it hit her; her hands weren't tied anymore. Straining her ears for any sign of life in the cabin, she quickly grabbed her scissors from her boot and moved them to the ropes on her legs, sawing at them viciously. Slowly they began to fray, and she pressed harder. After several minutes she managed to saw through them. She tossed them away victoriously, shoving her scissors back into her boot.

She wasted no time in rushing for the window. Jumping as high as she could, she managed to grab the window and began to pull herself up with all of her strength. For a second, she thought she may actually escape. That's when the small window creaked and gave way, crashing down on top of her.

**Author's Note: So what do you think? Any ideas, comments, suggestions, etc are greatly appreciated. Thank you guys for your amazing reviews so far and I hope you will continue to be as awesome as you've been so far :D Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, and for you Baders don't worry, there is much more Bade to come :D **

**And HUGEEE thanks to 2 AWESOME reviewers: Karlaserna & VictoriousJadeFan; you guys make my day with your reviews. I love you. Thanks for being amazing. **


	8. The Study

The crash from the falling window echoed through the small cabin, waking the captors from their sleep.

"Shit." Eric mumbled, sitting up suddenly. "What was that?" Clara sat up as well, staring at her laptop screen.

"The girl tried to escape." She said simply. "Made the window fall." Eric and Clara chuckled to themselves, making jokes about rethinking their assessments of this girl's intelligence.

"Uh, guys?" James interrupted, looking over Clara's shoulder at the screen which she was currently ignoring. "You might wanna look at this." They glanced over briefly and what they saw killed all remnants of laughter. The girl had recovered from the fall almost immediately and was once again attempting to pull herself through the window. She was almost through by the time they made it to the room, storming in and waving their guns like madmen.

"Get down from there!" Eric ordered, pointing his gun at Jade. "Now!" Jade clenched her teeth in frustration but let herself drop all the same. Eric grabbed her arm and marched her out of the room, Clara following close behind.

They led her back to the kitchen, ordering her to sit down. She did as she was told, pressing one hand to her head in an attempt to stop her newly formed, pounding headache. When she brought her hand away it was covered in blood. She winced. That wasn't a good sign. Her captors stood a few feet away, arguing violently about what to do with her.

"Well she obviously can't stay in that room anymore!" Eric pointed out, glaring at Clara who shook her head vehemently.

"She has to! It's the only other room we have!"

"Well then we'll have to put her back with the others!"

"Are you crazy!? You'll ruin my whole experiment!" Clara cried.

"No it won't." Eric rolled his eyes.

"My procedure specifically states that they must be separated for…"

"Well then change you're procedure! We can't put her back in there. She'll just escape, and I think _that_ will hurt your experiment a whole lot more!" Eric cried, exasperated.

"Whatever." Clara rolled her eyes, feeling defeated. "Do what you want." James joined the room then, carrying Jade's discarded ropes in his hands.

"Look what I found." He said grimly. "Looks like Goth girl has more tricks up her sleeve than we thought." Eric's eyes widened as he took in the frayed ropes. Clara pulled out her notebook and began scribbling frantically. Eric turned to Jade.

"How did you get those ropes of your legs?" He demanded, raising his gun intimidatingly. Jade shrugged, trying to stay indifferent.

"They just broke." Eric glared at her, bringing his gun closer to her face.

"We're you trying to get back to your boyfriend?" Clara asked excitedly. "Or maybe to Beck, hmm?" Jade frowned at her.

"Yes." She replied sarcastically. "It had nothing to do with wanting to escape this hell hole; I'm just love sick!" Clara frowned, shutting her notebook and looking insulted. Eric rolled his eyes at her and turned back to Jade, invading her space with his gun so she had to pay attention.

"I'll ask you one more time." He growled. "And don't you dare give me crap about them breaking, or falling off, or whatever. I can see perfectly well that they were cut. Now, what did you cut them with?" Jade didn't answer, but shifted her gaze to the floor. "Hand it over now." Eric barked, shoving the gun in her face. "Don't make us search you." Jade reluctantly pulled the scissors from her boot, deciding it wasn't worth waiting for a strip search. Eric snatched them roughly from her and threw them to James. "Bring me more ropes." Eric ordered him. James quickly crossed the kitchen. He shoved the scissors and cut rope into one drawer and pulled fresh rope from another. He tossed the rope to Eric who roughly tied Jade's feet with it. He was about to tie her hands as well, as punishment for trying to escape, but Clara stopped him.

"No. Leave her hands loose." Clara ordered. "It's more fun that way." Eric shrugged and tossed the extra rope back to James. He stood and ordered Jade to do the same, directing her toward the back room.

…..

Andre and Tori, who had also been awakened by the crash of the window, were on high alert, staring intensely at the door, wrapped nervously in each other's arms. Beck, on the other hand, was too miserable to care, and hadn't lifted his head from its seemingly permanent residence on his knees. He didn't even look up when the door clicked open, or when Andre and Tori gasped. He didn't even want to know what they saw. It wasn't until he heard Tori utter her name that he looked up, still cradling his knees in his tightly coiled position.

"Jade?" Tori choked, staring at her friend who she never thought she'd see again. "Is that really you?" Jade, who had been tossed in roughly by Eric only seconds before, laughed slightly at the question, brushing herself off as she sat up.

"Who else?" She replied with a small smile. Andre and Tori looked at each other for a moment before quickly clambering across the floor on their knees and throwing their arms around their friend.

"We thought…you…we heard…" Tori gasped, tears of relief flooding her eyes. Jade shrugged, pulling away from their suffocating grip.

"I'm fine." She assured them, although she felt far from it. Beck, who had been watching the exchange nearby, still hadn't moved from his spot. He couldn't move; he was in shock, unable to believe his eyes. He had been so convinced that Jade was dead that his mind didn't seem to be able to accept otherwise.

"J-Jade?" He stuttered, alerting the group to his presence. Jade looked at him, then back at Andre and Tori, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"We all thought you were dead." Andre whispered in explanation. "He's been a total mess." Jade smirked slightly, crawling across the floor to where Beck sat. He was staring at her blankly, as if unable to comprehend that she was actually there. She grasped his face in her hands, pulling his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. He kissed her back enthusiastically, his mind whirring a mile a minute. The couple didn't break for several minutes, leaving Tori and Andre awkwardly trying not to look at them. They felt like they were intruding their moment of something, but there wasn't much they could do about it with the room being as small as it was. When Beck and Jade finally broke apart, they were both breathing hard and staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you." Beck whispered, taking Jade's hand in his. Jade smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time in forever.

"I love you too."

"Um, Jade?" Tori began awkwardly, breaking the couple from their trance. "As much as I hate to break up the reunion; what happened to you? We heard screaming and a gun shot and this morning there was a big crash and now you're bleeding." She pointed out. Jade sighed, sitting on the ground next to Beck. He put his arm around her and she leaned into him, suddenly realizing how desperately lonely she'd been. She considered what Tori said and quickly realized how the screams and gunshot would've sounded to her friends. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt for doing as the people said.

"They didn't hurt me." She assured them, attempting to ease their tension. She felt Beck relax a little beside her and Tori and Andre let out breaths of relief.

"Then what happened?" Andre asked. Jade took a deep breath.

"They took me into the kitchen, forced me to scream, shot the gun away from us, and locked me in a separate room. I got these-" She indicated her cuts. "From trying to escape out a window." Andre looked impressed.

"You tried to escape?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at Jade. She nodded.

"They put me in this room with a little open window and I managed to cut the ropes off my legs and climb up so I was hanging on it. But it broke and made a loud bang and before I could get out and they came running and made me stop." Beck tightened his hold on Jade.

"What'd they do?" He asked nervously. Jade shrugged.

"Just pointed their gun at me and told me to stop. Then they took me in the kitchen and made me give up my scissors. The blonde guy wanted to put me back in here but the girl said they couldn't cuz it'd mess up her study." The others stared at her blankly.

"What girl?" Tori asked.

"The one that's working for them." Tori, Andre and Beck exchanged glances.

"There's a girl?" Beck confirmed.

"Yes!" Jade insisted.

"How come we've never seen her?" Andre asked skeptically.

"I don't know!"

"And she's doing…a study?" Tori frowned. "On what?"

"On us." Jade replied. The other glanced nervously at each other.

"Why?" Tori asked nervously. Jade shrugged, still unsure of that herself. She began to rethink the events of the days, the bits of overheard conversations, the gunshots, the questions…and suddenly it all made sense. She looked up at the others, her eyes full of understanding.

"She's doing a study on love."

**Author's Note: I've had a lot of people guess about what the study is but no one I know of figured it out. Did any of you expect it/figure it out? Definitely different than most kidnapping stories but I kind of like it. I like different. Anyways, I hope you guys are enjoying the story! You're the absolute best reviewers I just love hearing from you guys. Thank you for making my day with each and every kind word. Did I mention you're the best? Love you guys so much. Please continue to review and make me happy! :D Love you! xoxox **


	9. Get Out

Clara giggled like a school girl, clapping her hands happily as she watched her laptop screen.

"Quick! Get over here!" She yelled to her colleagues. Eric and James rushed over, not sure what to expect. They leaned over her shoulder to get a better view of what she was going on about and saw two of their captives making out on the screen. Eric laughed dryly, rolling his eyes at Clara.

"I knew she was lying." He stated simply. Clara nodded.

"I bet she was lying about having a boyfriend too!" She declared happily, as if she were watching her favorite soap opera rather then a group of teenage hostages. "This is gold! They'll have to publish my study now!" James rolled his eyes.

"Whoopie. Can we let them go now?" He asked dryly. Eric and Clara gave him a look of confusion. "What? Don't you think their parents are getting suspicious by now? It's only a matter of time before they send out a search team!" He defended. Eric nodded in agreement.

"He's right, Clara. We can't keep them forever." Clara shrugged.

"I know, but…"

"What more do you need?" James snapped, getting angry. "You have more than enough material for your stupid study so let's just let them leave!"

"No!" Clara replied, glaring at James. "They're perfect. I could do a thousand more studies on them. We'd have it made for life, don't you see?"

"Clara." Eric warned, seeing scarlet in the crazy woman's eyes. "We won't make anything if someone figures out how you're writing these studies. And we'll be spending the rest of our lives in jail for kidnapping. James is right. It's time to let them go." Clara shook her head vehemently, pulling her gun from her back pocket and pointing it at the men. Eric and James exchanged glances, backing up slowly.

"Easy, Clara." Eric warned, raising his hands. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach his weapon, which he had carelessly set on the table just moments before. He glanced at James desperately, hoping his colleague had his gun on him, but James just shook his head, he had set his down as well.

"You don't want to help with the study anymore? Fine! Get out of my lab!" Clara cried, her eyes wild. Again, Eric and James exchanged glances, not sure what to do. "Did I stutter?" Clara cried. "Get out! Get out!" She cocked the gun and James and Eric slowly backed out. She slammed the door in their faces.

"Now what?" James asked, glancing nervously at his partner.

"We go home." Eric replied solemnly.

"What about the kids?" James asked.

"What about them?" Eric snapped. "It's out of our hands."

"Clara's crazy, there's no telling what she'll do with us gone!" James protested, following Eric away from the cabin.

"What do you want to do then?" Eric demanded. "Call the police? The kids know our names and what we look like. Our only option is to get out of here, and fast."

…..

"I feel like we've been walking forever." Cat complained. "Are we almost there?" Robbie shrugged.

"I think so." Cat pouted.

"You've been saying that for hours."

"I thought it was closer than this!" Robbie cried in exasperation, making Cat go silent beside him. "I'm sorry Cat, I'm just stressed, that's all." He apologized, seeing that he upset her. Cat nodded but didn't say anything, continuing to walk in silence.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably just another half an hour, Robbie cried out "I see something!" Cat looked up and saw that he was right, there was a building just ahead, probably the restaurant they had passed on the way up. Cat's face lit up as she turned to Robbie, gripping his hands in hers.

"It's the restaurant!" She cried. "We found it!" Robbie hugged her in celebration, making her toes tingle, and grabbed his hand in hers. He pulled her happily toward the restaurant, the two of them giggling the whole way there.

….

Tori sighed, snuggling closer to Andre. Exhausted from the week's events and relieved to be united once again, the gang was attempting to catch some sleep, all of them, except for Tori. Tori couldn't sleep. She wasn't sure why that was; she was plenty tired enough to sleep, Jade was back, her friends were okay (for now), and yet she couldn't even close her eyes. It was a paranoid sort of feeling that she couldn't shake, no matter how hard she tried and it made her afraid to let her guard down. Nearby, she heard Jade stir in Beck's arms. The dark girl opened her eyes and looked around, immediately noticing Tori staring at her.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked, much more kindly than usual. Tori shrugged.

"Can't sleep." Jade frowned.

"How come?" Tori shrugged.

"It's stupid."

"Tell me." Jade insisted. Tori sighed.

"I just have this feeling that something's not right." Jade sat up, looking straight at Tori.

"Are you sure?" She asked, arranging herself while trying not to wake Beck. Tori nodded. Jade bit her lip.

"Me too." She admitted.

"Really?" Tori asked.

"Yeah. Something woke me up and I think something's wrong." She said, not bothering with further explanation. "You just confirmed it for me." Tori felt her heart begin to speed up, wondering what they were feeling. That's when they heard the distinct sound of a door slam shut.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry I've taken so long to update! School and life get in the way sometimes unfortunately lol. I'm sorry the chapter's short but I wanted to get sdomething up. Enjoy and Review :D**


	10. Finale

Cat and Robbie raced toward the restaurant, Cat skipping along as fast as her legs could carry her. They quickly reached the door and shoved it open.

"Help us, someone!" Cat cried. "We need a phone! We need to call for help!" Several heads turned their way but no one made a move to get their phone.

"Anyone?" Robbie cried, desperately, glancing around at the crowd. He turned to Cat. "Maybe no one has a phone?" Cat glared at him.

"Of course they have phones!" She cried, turning to the nearest person in the restaurant. "Give me your phone!" She demanded angrily, very unlike her usual self. "I know you have one!" She cried when they still made no move to get it. She took an intimidating step toward them, which wasn't very intimidating coming from a little soft-spoken girl. "Give me it!" The person just looked at her. She wished she was scary like Jade so that they would listen to her. A man in uniform came rushing over, stepping between Cat and the customer.

"What's going on here?" He demanded.

"We need a phone!" Cat cried. "We need to call for help for our friends!" The man regarded her for a moment and then looked at Robbie who quickly jumped to her aid.

"She's telling the truth! Our friends got kidnapped and we were supposed to call for help if they didn't come back and…and…" The man held up his hand to stop Robbie from his stuttering.

"Come with me." He said kindly. "We'll get you a phone."

…..

"We can't do this." James muttered, as he and Eric drove. "We have to go back." Eric stared at him.

"Are you mad? We'll get arrested! Or killed!"

"If we don't go back, Clara's going to kill them." James insisted. "If not for the kids, we have to go back so that we don't end up wanted for murder!"

"What do you mean?"

"Clara will flip on us in a second if she gets caught for murder! And our finger prints are all over that cabin! And those guns!" Eric considered this.

"They can't arrest us if they can't find us." James rolled his eyes.

"We can't hide from the police."

"Who says?"

"What are the odds we would actually pull that off?" Eric didn't answer. "Besides, their just teenagers." James continued. "They don't deserve to die. We never wanted that."

…

The door swung open and out stepped Clara, startling Tori and Jade and waking the boys from their sleep.

"I told you there was a girl." Jade mumbled as Beck sat up, tightening his arms around her. Clara shut the door behind her and eyed the group evilly, her hand moving to grab something from her pocket. Jade's eyes widened as she realized what the girl was doing. She buried her head in Beck's shoulder, gripping his arm like a life line. Beck looked at her in oddly but his confusion didn't last long. From her back pocket, Clara pulled a gun, pointing it at each teenager in turn. The teens gasped and held each other closely, bracing themselves for the worst.

"One of you is going to die tonight." Clara stated. "It's up to you which one. If you don't choose I'll kill you all. I'll be back in 2 hours. Happy choosing." She gave them a sick smile before disappearing through the door. Tori began to cry, gripping Andre to her as she sobbed. Andre began to cry too, slow tears falling from his eyes as he held Tori as close as he possibly could. He couldn't even try to comfort her. He knew nothing he said could change this messed up situation.

Jade closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. It was awful, disgusting what these people were doing to them. And for what? A stupid study. It made sense that Clara would make them choose who died. It was just another one of her stupid love tests. To see who loved who the most or something. She was probably watching them right now, writing down their reactions. She'd probably do the same after one of them was dead and after that she'd kill them off one by one until only one person was left and went mad all alone. Jade sighed. She didn't dare tell her friends her speculations; it'd only upset them more, if that was possible.

She felt Beck's firm arms around her and looked up into his eyes. They were shining with tears as he stared at her so intensely that she had to look away. She looked instead at Andre and Tori who were locked just as tightly in each other's arms, crying as they clutched each other desperately. Jade looked down, crying for the first time since they'd been captured. There was no hope anymore. One of them was going to die tonight.

….

Officer Vega was in his office, reviewing case files when the station received the call. His secretary rushed in telling him the line number and saying he had been requested. Frowning, he picked up the extension, unsure why he would be receiving a call when he was technically off the clock. "Officer Vega, how can I help you?"

"Mr. Vega!" A familiar, panicked voice cried from the other end of the phone.

"Cat?" He frowned in confusion. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Cat said sadly. "But you have to come now! We are at the restaurant on 86th and Sperry. We need a search team now!"

"Slow down, why do you need a search team, Cat? Is someone missing?"

"Yes." Cat choked.

"Who?" He heard a muffled sob from the other end of the line.

"T-tori, Jade, Andre, and Beck." Cat cried. "We ha-have to f-find them."

"We will be right there, Cat, stay put!" Mr. Vega demanded, hanging up the phone and rushing out to recruit other officers for his search. His heart was racing a mile a minute as he pictured his daughter lost in the woods: dying of thirst, hunger, cold. He pictured her drowning in a lake, kidnapped by a maniac. He had been on the force way too long to fool himself into thinking most missing people were found. Many of them weren't, many bodies were.

He slid into his car, slamming the door and flooring it forward as he turned on his siren. He hadn't heard from Tori in several days, but he had convinced himself it was because there was no service where they were camping. He sped to the restaurant, his team of officers following close behind. It normally would've taken almost two hours to get to the restaurant from the station, but he was speeding so fast it only took an hour. Still, it was too long for his liking. He had to find his daughter, and fast.

"Cat, Robbie." He called, climbing out of his squad car. "What happened?" They rushed over to his car, talking as quickly as they could, trying to explain what had happened. Once Officer Vega had gotten the gist of it, they followed him back to the squad car and climbed in, directing him toward the forest where they lost the gang. They rushed as fast as they could, praying that they wouldn't be too late.

…

The two hours were up before they knew it and the door opened again, revealing a smiling Clara.

"So who did you guys choose?" She asked, expectantly. "Who's dying tonight?" No one answered her, just gripped their loved one tighter. "If you don't give me an answer in 10 seconds, you all die. So who's it going to be?" Still no one answered, they had all promised each other not to volunteer themselves, unwillingly accepting that it'd be all of them to die. They figured that they'd all die one way or another anyways, and that it'd just prolong their suffering to try and buy some of them more time.

"No one wants to choose, huh?" Clara looked around at the group. She pulled her gun, cocking it and pointing it at each person. "10…" She began to count. Tori sobbed silently into Andre's shirt. "9…" Beck clutched Jade closely. She looked up at him and their hopeless eyes met. "8…" Jade leaned up and kissed Beck softly. "7…" Tori looked up at Andre. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers slowly. "6…" The couples gently broke away from each other, hugging tightly. "5…" Tori reached her hand out to Jade, who slowly took it, giving her a sad smile. Beck and Andre grabbed hands as well, holding their girlfriends tightly to them with their other arm. "4…" They shut their eyes, holding as tightly to each other as they could. "3…"

The door burst open.

…..

Suddenly, the room was in chaos. The group jumped in shock, immediatly looking around for their saviors and saw their other captors, Eric and James, wrestling Clara for the gun. She wielded it desperately, trying to get a clear shot at one of the men. The teenagers jumped up, backing away from the brawl, waiting for a clear shot to the door. They sprinted towards it as soon as it was clear, running through it without a backwards glance. As soon as they were out of the house the squad cars arrived stopping just in front of the group.

Tori's dad leaped from the car first, rushing to hug his daughter while the rest of the team swarmed the cabin. "Are you okay?" He asked her, sincerely. She nodded and he kissed her head before running to help his team. Cat and Robbie clambered from the squad car and rushed to their friends, shrieking in happiness and hugging each one in turn.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Cat cried. Then she eyed their newly interlocked hands. She looked at Tori and Andre. "Oh my gosh! You guys are a couple?" She looked at Beck and Jade. "And you guys are back together?" The tired teens just nodded; still shocked from everything they had been through. _It's over. _Tori repeated again and again in her head. _It's over. _"Cool!" Cat continued, oblivious to their exhaustion. "Robbie and I are a couple now too!" Robbie grinned proudly beside her.

A few minutes later, the police team returned, leading a handcuffed Eric, James, and Clara. They were each immediately led to their own squad car and Jade frowned, watching. Slowly, she pulled away from Beck, assuring him she'd be right back, and followed the officer leading Eric. "Wait." She said as he moved to push Eric into the back of the car. "Can I just ask him something?" The officer frowned. He knew that victims often wanted closure after a traumatic event, but it seemed way too soon in his opinion.

"I don't know…" He began.

"Please." Jade insisted. "Just one question." The officer sighed and nodded, keeping his hold on Eric all the same. Jade sighed, looking at her captor. "Why didn't you let her kill us?" She asked. Eric shrugged, eyeing her sadly.

"You didn't deserve to die. We never meant for you to die." Jade nodded, moving slowly back to her friends. They'd testify on the men's behalf in trial, she decided. Because they didn't deserve to spend the rest of their lives in jail. They could serve the kidnapping charge, but not the attempted murder one; she'd make sure of that. She made her way back to her friends, wrapping herself in her boyfriend's arms. He gripped her tightly, like he'd never let her go. She smiled to herself. That was just fine with her; she didn't plan on letting him go anytime soon either.

**Author's Note: The end! Thank you guys so much for being such an amazing audience! You really are the best :D Please review the chapter and also tell me what you want me to write next because I'm blanking on ideas. So if you want another story please tell me! And give me ideas for it! Also, check out my other story, This Is War. Thanks for your dedication and reviews, you've made me so happy. Love you all!**


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